Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Ward 5 Coun. Corey Gardi

Sault loses bid to host Canada Water Agency headquarters

Sault loses bid to host Canada Water Agency headquarters

Sault Ste. Marie’s pitch to host the new Canada Water Agency was not successful. A tiny few lines in Thursday’s federal budget under the heading Protecting Our Freshwater awarded the new agency to Winnipeg. The 2023 federal budget proposes to inject $85.1 million over five years to support the creation of the Canada Water Agency, “which will be headquartered in Winnipeg.” “By the end of 2023, the government will introduce legislation that will fully establish the Canada Water Agency as a standalone entity,” the document reads. The announcement comes just one week after World Water Day, on March 22. Ward 5 Coun. Corey Gardi, who led the charge to have the agency located here, said he was disappointed.

New city council reaffirms interest in Canada Water Agency

New city council reaffirms interest in Canada Water Agency

One of the first actions of our 2022-2026 city council was to toast Sault Ste. Marie's bid to become the home of the new Canada Water Agency. Councillors gave unanimous support Monday night to a resolution from Ward 5 Coun. Corey Gardi and Ward 2's Luke Dufour, confirming that the Sault is still the "superior" choice for the new agency, intended to work with provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, local authorities, scientists, and others to keep Canada's fresh water safe, clean, and well-managed. "We're in the process of arranging for a couple of meetings with members of the federal government," Gardi said. "The task force has really stepped up its work over the course of the last couple of weeks." "It seems that the decision is imminent," Gardi said.

Sault's water agency task force awaits standing committee announcement

Sault's water agency task force awaits standing committee announcement

A task force created to lobby the federal government to establish its Canada Water Agency in Sault Ste. Marie is waiting for word of the establishment of a standing committee. It’s submission is nearly polished and ready to go, pending any new information that comes to light between now and hearing dates, said Ward 5 Coun. Corey Gardi who spearheaded the initiative. “We are awaiting word on the formation of a standing committee and we’ll take our information to that committee, but until then, there’s not a lot to do,” Gardi said. Gardi will be meeting with mayor-elect Matthew Shoemaker in the coming days to discuss the council term ahead. He plans on seeking Shoemaker’s support for the initiative and getting him on board.

Community in favour of hosting federal Canada Water Agency

Community in favour of hosting federal Canada Water Agency

A task force working to submit a bid to be the host city for a proposed federal government clean water agency has published its community discussions on its website. The project website can be found at www.cwassm.ca. Ten in-person and virtual discussions held between August and December have resulted in more than 200 participants representing local organizations, Indigenous persons, youth and the general public, providing information and discussion the city’s plan to host the future agency. The idea was first sparked by Ward 5 Coun. Corey Gardi, who presented the idea to city council.

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